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about The Film

“The Poet and the Professor” is a dark comedic short about Ariel, an insecure writer tortured by her own desires. Ariel can’t seem to stop seeing “The Poet,” an older, volatile cinematographer who pursues his ‘art’ while taking full advantage of his rich girlfriend’s beautiful New York apartment. Ariel also can’t stop herself from loving her own professor, a depressed, married, struggling adjunct obsessed with postmodernism and addicted to pills. In this short film, Ariel must overcome a proclivity for dysfunctional affairs to find a healthier, more sustainable relationship.

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Cast

Ariel Kavoussi - Actress + writer + director

Ariel Kavoussi is an artist, writer, filmmaker, and actress based in New York City. Her work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art's Documentary Fortnight, Dia: Chelsea, Anthology Film Archives, Louis B. James, The Williams College Museum of Art, and elsewhere.

Ariel had the starring, titular role in the comedic punk odyssey, THE DEFLOWERING OF ARIELLA VON, a feature film by Marianna Ellenberg and David Louis Zuckerman. New York Times' film critic Miriam Bale premiered the film at The 2015 La Di Da Film Festival and indie ingenuous, Kentucker Audley featured it on Nobudge.com, a page that No FilmSchool has referred to the "premiere website for true independent films." THE DEFLOWERING OF ARIELLA VON also had a full page spread in the September 2014 issue of "Cahiers Du Cinema" Magazine, France's largest and most prestigious film publication.

Ariel can next be seen opposite Anne Heche, Sandra Oh, & Dylan Baker in Onur Tukel's 2016 dark comedy CATFIGHT which premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.

Kevin Corrigan - "The poet"

Kevin Corrigan is an independent film icon.

His film appearances have included work in Martin Scorsese's THE DEPARTED and GOODFELLAS, BIG FAN, LIVING IN OBLIVION, KICKED IN THE HEAD, TREES LOUNGE, SLUMS OF BEVERLY HILLS, WALKING AND TALKING, BUFFALO 66', and most recently Andrew Bujalski's RESULTS for which he received a nomination for best actor at the 2016 Independent Spirit Awards.

Kevin is also an experienced interviewer, writer, and bassist and has played in several New York City bands.

Bob Byington - "The Professor"

Bob Byington is an American film director, screenwriter and actor living in Austin, Texas. His most recent film INFINITY BABY stars Kieran Culkin, and the one he made before that, 7 CHINESE BROTHERS, starred Jason Schwartzman. His film SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME, starring Nick Offerman, won the Special Jury Prize at Locarno in 2012. RSO (REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER) premiered at SXSW in 2008, while HARMONY AND ME, which received an Annenberg Fellowship, was the only American film to have its premiere at New Directors/New Films in 2009.

As an actor, Byington has made notable contributions to independent cinema including work in: Jennifer Prediger's APARTMENT TROUBLES, Hal Hartley's NED RIFLE (opposite Aubrey Plaza of PARKS AND RECREATION), and Alex Ross Perry's THE COLOR WHEEL.

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team

VALERIE STEINBERG, PRODUCER

Valerie Steinberg was born and raised in Los Angeles. She attended Yale University where she earned her Bachelor's degree in Philosophy and Chinese. Her producing career began on Broadway, working on shows such as JERUSALEM starring Mark Rylance, THE BOOK OF MORMON by Trey Parker & Matt Stone, and THE MOUNTAINTOP starring Samuel L. Jackson. Her film producing credits include FRY DAY (dir. Laura Moss, SXSW and Tribeca 2017), EVERYBODY DIES! (dir. Frances Bodomo), which is part of the omnibus feature COLLECTIVE:UNCONSCIOUS (SXSW 2016), SKETCH (dir. Mariama Diallo, Lincoln Center African Film Fest 2017), WITH YURI (dir. Zoë Le Ber), and WHITE TOWER (dir. Charlotte Rabate).

Charlotte Hornsby, Director of photography

Charlotte Hornsby is a director of photography based in New York. Charlotte shot and directed Beyoncé for the 2015 September issue of Vogue and photographed her sister Solange Knowles for New York Magazine's "Life in Pictures." The four international commercial spots Charlotte shot for Adidas aired during the 2016 Grammys and the 2016 Oscars. She photographed Seasons 1 and 2 of WOMANHOOD, which stars Aparna Nancherla, for Refinery29. Nylon Magazine has also recognized her work naming the music video Charlotte shot and directed for Sunflower Bean one of "The 14 Best Music Videos of 2016 (so far)." Charlotte is currently shooting for indie auteur Onur Tukel's latest comedy, BLACK MAGIC FOR WHITE BOYS, which stars Ronald Guttman (MAD MEN) as well as acting in Josephine Decker's latest feature alongside Molly Parker (HOUSE OF CARDS) and Miranda July (ME, YOU, AND EVERYONE WE KNOW).

Emma Zbiral-Teller, Production designer

Emma Zbiral-Teller is a Brooklyn based video artist and production designer. She studied at The Prague Film School and earned her BA from Hampshire College. Currently she works in commercial and independent film production as an art director, and is a live cinema designer for The Deconstructive Theater Project. She is a curator at The Tank NYC with "Spatial Film," a series that explores the atmospheric environment and viewing experience of new video works. Emma has worked in the art department on feature films such as Ben Dickinson's CREATIVE CONTROL, and Dustin Guy Defa's HUMAN PEOPLE which stars Michael Cera and Tavi Gevinson.

Credits

Executive Producer - Ariel Kavoussi, Clifford McCurdy, Devoe Yates

Production Funded by Kickstarter Backers

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Producer - Valerie Steinberg

Director of Photography - Charlotte Hornsby

Associate Producer / Assistant Director - Erica Rose

Production Designer - Emma Zbiral-Teller

Art Director - Eli Kleinsmith

Production Coordinator - Chuka Agbaraji

Stylist - Ellen Robin Rosenberg

1st AC - Sean Hanley

Additional AC - Paula Palumbo

Gaffer - Carmen Hilbert

Additional Gaffer - Greg Stout, Kevin McDonald

Key Grip - Jesse Ruuttila

Swing - Nicole Lang

Data Wrangler - Johnny Frohman, Nidahl Haddad

Production Sound - Jarrett DePasquale

Boom Operator - Jungjoo Park

Editors - Justin Kavoussi, Ariel Kavoussi

Additional Editor - Zach Clark

Color Correction - Jenny Montgomery

Poster Illustration - Julie Lequin

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PLEASE SUPPORT

We shot THE POET AND THE PROFESSOR in August 2016 with an incredible cast and crew. None of this could have happened with the incredible support of our fans and supporters. Please consider donating to help support our film.

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Thank you so much for taking the time to consider supporting THE POET AND THE PROFESSOR.